Information display method, information processing apparatus, and recording medium recording information display program

ABSTRACT

A method of displaying item information related to a plurality of individuals having different properties onto a screen. The method includes the steps of: obtaining information indicating equivalent time in property, which is time corresponding to a property of each individual; setting a time axis on the screen such that equivalent time in property of each individual indicated by the obtained information has the same position and the same display length, or the same position or the same display length in a time axial direction; and displaying item information related to each individual on the screen in relation to the set time axis.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention contains subject matter related to Japanese PatentApplication JP 2006-312498 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Nov.20, 2006, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a method of displaying, on a screen, iteminformation, such as personal history of a plurality of individuals,such as a person, an animal, or the like, an information processingapparatus performing the method of displaying the information, and arecording medium recording a computer program for displaying theinformation.

2. Description of the Related Art

It is thought that historical or personal historical items are describedas chronological data, and are displayed in a chronological format. Itis also thought that Japanese history and world history, a socialbackground and a company's history, etc., are displayed as a time chart.

Specifically, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.11-249640 has disclosed the processing displaying a user's personalhistory from birth to the present by chronological data including a pairof date data and event data by dividing a time period into few-yearperiods, for example, a period from age 0 to age 4, a period from age 5to age 9, and a period from age 10 to age 14.

Also, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-66049has disclosed the processing as follows. When a request of displaying achronological table is made from a user terminal to a server connectedto the user terminal through a network, the personal chronological-tableinformation of the request source is read from a personal eventdatabase, history information is read from a history event database, anddata for displaying the chronological table in which both pieces of theinformation are disposed is generated to be transmitted to the userterminal of the request source.

Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2006-4152 has disclosed the processing as follows. When the user entersa birth year or a current age in an initial setting screen, atime-of-life search execution screen is displayed. In the time-of-lifesearch execution screen, by specifying a time of life (a grade in schoolor age), for example, that the user is a freshman at high school or theage of 16, etc., the titles of the music marketed or the hit music inthe calendar year (for example, at the time of the year 2005, when thebirth year is input as 1967, or the current age is input as age 38, ifthe time of life is specified as a freshman at high school or age 16,the year becomes 1983) corresponding to the specified time of life aredisplayed as a search result screen.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, in a known time chart as shown in Japanese Unexamined PatentApplication Publication No. 11-66049, two historical or personalhistorical items, such as social history and history of an individual,etc., are arranged at the right and at the left side, respectively, orat the upper side and at the lower side, respectively, simply inchronological order. Thus, for example, when the personal histories ofpersons in different eras are displayed in a time chart, it is difficultto abstract the difference in a property of age (accidental property)and to compare the persons more universally (conceptually only by anintrinsic property).

For example, when the personal histories of the user and the personalhistory of Oda Nobunaga are displayed as a time chart, it is thoughtthat the birth years and individual ages are matched at the sameposition in the chronological axis direction, the fact that the user wasborn in 1960 and the fact that Oda Nobunaga was born in 1534 aredisplayed at the start position of the chronological axis, and thefollowing histories of the user and Oda Nobunaga are displayed incontrast.

In this case, from the personal history that Oda Nobunaga was recognizedto have come of age at the age of 15, and died at the age of 47 in 1582,it seems that Oda Nobunaga had grown up fast and died in early lifesuperficially.

However, there is a difference in era, social circumstances, the averagelife span, etc., between the era of Oda Nobunaga and the present, andthus it is not necessarily stated that Oda Nobunaga had grown up fastand died in early life.

That is to say, when the personal histories of the persons havingdifferent properties, such as an era, etc., are shown in a time chartsimply in order of age, it is difficult to compare the persons moreuniversally by abstracting the differences in an era, etc.

Thus, it is desirable to make it possible to universally compare aplurality of individuals having different eras, types, etc., forexample, persons in different eras, a person and an animal, an animal ofone species and an animal of another species, etc., by abstracting thedifferences in eras, species, etc.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided amethod of displaying item information related to a plurality ofindividuals having different properties onto a screen, the methodincluding the steps of: obtaining information indicating equivalent timein property, which is time corresponding to a property of eachindividual; setting a time axis on the screen such that equivalent timein property of each individual indicated by the obtained information hasthe same position and the same display length, or the same position orthe same display length in a time axial direction; and displaying iteminformation related to each individual on the screen in relation to theset time axis.

In the above-described method of displaying information, when thepersonal history of the user and the personal history of Oda Nobunagaare displayed as a time chart, on the time axis on the screen, forexample the average life span (for example, 80 years) of a person at thepresent time and the average life span (for example, 50 years) of aperson in the era of Oda Nobunaga are displayed at the same position andby the same display length.

Thus, it is understood that from the viewpoint of a person's life byabstracting the difference in era, the fact that Oda Nobunaga and aperson of the era of Oda Nobunaga had been recognized as an adult at theage of 15 is not necessarily a fast growth. At the same time, it isunderstood that the fact that Oda Nobunaga died at the age of 47 in 1582does not necessarily mean a death in early life.

As described above, by this invention, it is possible to universallycompare a plurality of individuals having different eras, types, etc.,for example, persons in different eras, a person and an animal, ananimal of one species and an animal of another species, etc., byabstracting the differences in era, species, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system for executing amethod of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the functional configuration of theinformation processing apparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a time chart by thisinvention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing executed by aCPU;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a time chart by thisinvention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a time chart by thisinvention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a time chart by thisinvention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a time chart by thisinvention; and

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a time chart by thisinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 1. System Configuration FIGS. 1and 2

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system for executing an informationdisplay method according to an embodiment of this invention.

In the system of this example, an information processing apparatus 10 ofthe user side is connected to a server 91 through the Internet 100.

The information processing apparatus 10 has a function of processing anddisplaying information, and a function of connecting to the Internet100. At the same time, the information processing apparatus 10 has afunction of playing back music by music data and a function of playingback images by image data.

Specifically, the information processing apparatus 10 has a CPU 11, anda main memory 13 into which programs and data are loaded is connected toa bus 12 of the CPU 11. Also, an input section 15 is connected to thebus 12 through an interface 14.

Also, an internal storage unit 22 is connected to the bus 12 through aninterface 21. A display 25 is connected to the bus 12 through a displayprocessing section 24. An audio output section 28 is connected to thebus 12 through an audio processing section 27.

The storage unit 22 includes a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, etc.,and stores various programs including information display programs, anddata, such as various kinds of information, content data, etc.

The display processing section 24 performs decoding processing on screendata and image data. The display 25 is a liquid crystal displaydisplaying screens and images or an organic electroluminescence display,etc. The audio processing section 27 performs decoding processing onaudio data, such as music data. The audio output section 28 is an audioamplifier circuit and a speaker (a headphone).

Further, an external interface 32 for connecting to an external localstorage 31 and an external network interface 33 for connecting to theInternet 100 are connected to the bus 12.

The local storage 31 stores data, such as various kinds of informationand content data, etc. Such data is taken in from the local storage 31to the information processing apparatus 10.

The server 91 provides various information and content, etc., as Webservices on a Web site, and transmits data, such as various kinds ofinformation and content data to the information processing apparatus 10in response to a request from the information processing apparatus 10. Anetwork storage 92 for storing data, such as various kinds ofinformation and content data, is connected to the server 91.

As shown in FIG. 2, for the display of item information, the payback ofa content, and the purchase of goods or services, the above-describedinformation processing apparatus 10 includes a control section 41, aninformation obtaining section 42, a time-axis setting section 43, aninformation display section 44, a content playback section 45, and apurchase processing section 46.

The control section 41 includes the CPU 11 and the main memory 13. Theinformation obtaining section 42 includes the CPU 11, the interface 21,the external interface 32, and the external network interface 33. Thetime-axis setting section 43 includes the CPU 11, the main memory 13,and the display processing section 24. The information display section44 includes the CPU 11, the main memory 13, and the display processingsection 24. The content playback section 45 includes the CPU 11, themain memory 13, the display processing section 24, and the audioprocessing section 27. The purchase processing section 46 includes theCPU 11, the main memory 13, and the display processing section 24.

2. Creation and Display of Time Chart of Persons Having DifferentProperties FIG. 3 to FIG. 6

In the example system of FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 10creates and displays a time chart of persons having differentproperties, such as an era, etc., as follows.

2-1. When the Average Life Spans of Persons in Different Eras areDisplayed the Same: FIGS. 3 and 4

First, a description will be given of the case where persons indifferent eras are displayed in a time chart, and at the same time, theposition and the length of the average life span of a person in each erais made the same on the time axis.

Creation and Display of Time Chart

When the user creates and displays a time chart, the user displays, forexample the screen 1 as shown in FIG. 3 on the display 25 by theoperation by the operation input section 15.

Specifically, on the screen 1, an operation input area 2 and achronological-table display area 3 are disposed, and chronological-tablespecification fields 2 a and 2 b, and various buttons, such as aselection button 2 c, etc., are disposed in the operation input area 2.

When the user creates and displays a time chart of, for example OdaNobunaga and the user himself/herself, the user specifies Oda Nobunagaas one of the chronological tables A in the chronological-tablespecification field 2 a, and specifies the user himself/herself as theother of the chronological tables B in the chronological-tablespecification field 2 b.

In this regard, it is possible to constitute the chronological-tablespecification fields 2 a and 2 b by a pull-down menu method, etc., withthe descriptions of famous persons in each era in advance to allow theuser to select one person among them.

When the user specifies each person in this manner and then operates theselection button 2 c, the CPU 11 of the information processing apparatus10 obtains the chronological information of each of the specifiedpersons from the Internet 100 through the external network interface 33,from the local storage 31 through the external interface 32, and fromthe internal storage unit 22 through the interface 21.

Specifically, the chronological information of Oda Nobunaga can beobtained from the internal storage unit 22 or the local storage 31 ifthat information is stored in the internal storage unit 22 or the localstorage 31. When the information is not stored in the internal storageunit 22 or the local storage 31, the information can be obtained fromthe Internet 100. Also, the chronological information of the userhimself/herself is stored in the internal storage unit 22 or the localstorage 31 in advance, ant thus the information can be obtained from theinternal storage unit 22 or the local storage 31.

After the chronological information of each person is obtained, the CPU11 of the information processing apparatus 10 identifies the era of eachperson (the era when each person lived, or the era when each person isliving) by the chronological information. In this example, the CPU 11identifies the Warring States period in Japan (the period from theWarring States period to Azuchi-Momoyama Era) for Oda Nobunaga from thechronological information. The CPU 11 identifies the present time (theyear 2006) for the user himself/herself from the chronologicalinformation.

Furthermore, the CPU 11 of the information processing apparatus 10obtains the information indicating the average life span of a person ofeach era (the era of each person), and detects the average life span ofa person of each era.

The CPU 11 obtains the information indicating the average life span of aperson from the Internet 100, the internal storage unit 22, or the localstorage 31.

The average life span of a person is different for each region, such asa country, etc., and is also different by a gender, etc. Thus, when theaverage life span of a person is statistically calculated or estimatedfor each property, such as an era, a region, a gender, etc., the averagelife span adapted to each of the properties is used.

After detecting the average life span of a person in each era in thismanner, the CPU 11 of the information processing apparatus 10 sets anddisplays the time axis in the chronological-table display area 3 suchthat the average life span of a person in each era has the same positionand length on the time axis.

When a time chart of Oda Nobunaga and the user himself/herself iscreated and displayed, suppose, for example, that (a) The average lifespan (the average for a man and a woman) of Japanese in the WarringStates period when Oda Nobunaga lived is 50 years, and (b) The averagelife span (the average of a man and a woman) of Japanese at present is80 years. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, a line segment from a start point toanother point on the time axis 4 is assumed to be the average life span4 a. At the same time, for a person in the Warring States period, theaverage life span 4 a is assumed to be 50 years, which is the periodfrom birth to the reaching of age of the average life span 4 a. For aperson at the present time, the average life span 4 a is assumed to be80 years, which is the period from birth to the reaching of age of theaverage life span 4 a.

Accordingly, for a person in the Warring States period, the time periodfor a unit length, such as 10 mm or 100 mm on the time axis 4 becomes ⅝times that for a person at the present time. On the contrary, for aperson at the present time, the unit length becomes 1.6 times that for aperson in the Warring States period.

After setting and displaying the time axis 4 in the chronological-tabledisplay area 3 in this manner, the CPU 11 of the information processingapparatus 10 displays the chronological information of Oda Nobunaga andthe chronological information of the user himself/herself in thechronological-table display area 3.

“Kinoshita Kichiro” in FIG. 3 is the user himself/herself. In theexample in FIG. 3, five pieces of item information 7 a, 7 b, 7 c, 7 d,and 7 e are displayed as the chronological information of Oda Nobunaga,and six pieces of item information 8 a, 8 b, 8 c, 8 d, 8 e, and 8 f aredisplayed as the chronological information of the user himself/herself.

By this example, the time when a person in the Warring States period wasrecognized as an adult at the age of 15 is 3/10 times the average lifespan of a person in the Warring States period. In contrast, the timewhen a person at the present time is recognized as an adult at the ageof 20 is 2.5/10 times the average life span of a person at the presenttime.

Accordingly, when a comparison is made between the time of age 15 whenOda Nobunaga and a person in the Warring States period was recognized asan adult, and the time of age 20 when a person at the present time isrecognized as an adult, it is understood that the time of age 15 whenOda Nobunaga and a person in the Warring States period was recognized asan adult is not early from the viewpoint of a person's life byabstracting the difference in era.

Also, the fact that Oda Nobunaga died at the age of 47 is not death inearly life from the viewpoint of a person's life of the average lifespan of a person in the Warring States period and by abstracting thedifference in era.

That is to say, by this example, it possible to more universally compareOda Nobunaga or a person in the Warring States period, and the userhimself/herself or a person at the present time by abstracting thedifference in era.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a series of processing performed by theCPU 11 of the information processing apparatus 10 in accordance with theinformation display program when a time chart is created and displayedas shown in FIG. 3.

In this example, the user specifies the chronological tables A and B(each person) in the chronological-table specification fields 2 a and 2b, and operates the selection button 2 c, and thus the CPU 11 starts theprocessing for creating and displaying the time chart. First, in step51, the chronological information of each of the specified persons isobtained, and in the next step 52, the era of each person is identifiedby the chronological information.

Next, in step 53, the CPU 11 obtains the information indicating theaverage life span of a person of each era identified. Next, in step 54,the CPU 11 sets and displays the time axis 4 in the chronological-tabledisplay area 3 such that each of the average life spans have the sameposition and length. Further, the processing proceeds to step 55, theCPU 11 displays the chronological information (item information) of eachperson obtained in step 51 in relation to the time axis 4 set anddisplayed in step 54.

In this regard, when an era is not identified from the chronologicalinformation, the CPU 11 should present that fact to the user on thescreen 1, and should prompt the user to input an era. Also, when theinformation indicating the average life span of a person of that era isfailed to be obtained, the CPU 11 should present that fact to the useron the screen 1, and should prompt the user to input the average lifespan. In this regard, the display of the time axis and the display ofthe chronological information may be conducted at the same time.

As a result of the above-described processing, the time chart createdand displayed in the chronological-table display area 3 as shown in FIG.3 is allowed to be stored in the internal storage unit 22 or the localstorage 31 as the time chart. By this means, it is possible for the userto directly display the time chart on the display 25 at anotheroccasion.

Content Playback

It is possible to relate a part of or all of the item information in thetime chart to a content.

For example, it is possible to associate the item information 7 e inFIG. 3 with the image (a moving image or a still image) of the scene inwhich Oda Nobunaga is fighting against the enemy at Honno-ji in a movie,and to associate the item information 8 c with a piece of music the userused to listen to at that time.

In this manner, when a part of or all of the item information is set tobe related to a content, the content is played back at the time ofcreation and display of the time chart.

For example, in the example in FIG. 3, if music is related only to theitem information 8 c, when the time chart is created and displayed asshown in FIG. 3, the music is automatically played back.

Also, for example, in the example of FIG. 3, if images are related tothe item information 7 c, 7 e, 8 a, 8 b, and 8 d, and pieces of musicare related to the item information 8 a, 8 c, and 8 d, when the iteminformation 8 a is selected by the click operation of the user, etc.,the piece of music related to this is played back, and when the iteminformation 8 d is selected, the image and the piece of music related tothis is played back.

If the content data, such as image data, music data, etc., for playingback the content is stored in the internal storage unit 22 or the localstorage 31, the content data is obtained from the internal storage unit22 or the local storage 31. If the content data is not stored in theinternal storage unit 22 or the local storage 31, the content data isobtained from the Internet 100. The image played back is displayed, forexample, in a partial area of the screen 1.

At this time, it is desirable to allow to store the content dataobtained from the Internet 100 into the internal storage unit 22 or thelocal storage 31 in relation to the time chart. By this means, when thetime chart is displayed on the display 25 at another occasion asdescribed above, it is possible to play back the content, such as animage, music, etc., at the same time.

Purchase of Goods and Services

It is possible to make a part of or all of the item information in thetime chart related to goods and services that can be purchased on theInternet 100.

For example, that is the case where a certain item information includesan image, characters indicating certain goods or services, and theaddress (URL) of the sales source is attached to that item information.

In this case, when the user operates a predetermined operation on thatitem information in order to purchase the goods or the service, the CPU11 executes the purchase processing.

Specifically, first, the CPU 11 connects to the above-described addressthrough the external network interface 33 to display the purchase screenon the display 25. When the user applies for the purchase of the goodsor the service on that purchase screen, and inputs the payment method ofthe charge, the purchase processing is performed between the informationprocessing apparatus 10 of the user side and the server of the salessource, and thus the user can purchase the goods or the service.

2-2. When Another Period is Displayed at the Same Position and by theSame Length: FIG. 5

When a time chart of persons in different eras is created and displayedas described above, the time axis may be set and displayed such that,instead of the average life span, for example, the underage (immature)period of a person in each era, that is to say, the period from birth tothe age recognized as an adult (recognized as matured) have the sameposition and the same length on the time axis.

Specifically, when a time chart of Oda Nobunaga and the userhimself/herself is created and displayed as described above, as shown inFIG. 5, it is assumed that a line segment from a start point to anotherpoint on the time axis 4 is an underage period 4 c. At the same time, itis assumed that for a person in the Warring States period, the underageperiod 4 c is a period of 15 years, namely up to age 15, when the personis recognized as an adult, and for a person at the present time, theunderage period 4 c is a period of 20 years, namely up to age 20, whenthe person is recognized as an adult.

Accordingly, for a person in the Warring States period, the time periodfor a unit length, such as 10 mm or 100 mm on the time axis 4 becomes ¾times that for a person at the present time. On the contrary, for aperson at the present time, the unit length becomes 1.33 times that fora person in the Warring States period. Also, assuming that the displaylength of the underage period 4 c is L, the display length of theaverage life span (50 years) of a person in the Warring States periodbecomes 3.33 L, and the display length of the average life span (80years) of a person at the present time becomes 4 L.

In this case, at the same time, it is preferable to make clear theaverage life span of a person in the Warring States period and theaverage life span of a person at the present time at a glance, forexample, by displaying, on the time axis 4, a line 4 d connecting apoint indicating age 50 of a person in the Warring States period on theupper side on the time axis 4 and a point indicating age 80 of a personat the present time.

By this example, it possible to more universally compare Oda Nobunaga ora person in the Warring States period, and the user himself/herself or aperson at the present time by abstracting the difference in agerecognized as an adult due to the difference in era, or the differencein the absolute time length of the underage period.

The time axis may be set and displayed such that not an underage period,but a period from birth to an age recognized as old age of eachindividual, a period from age recognized as an adult to an agerecognized as old age of each individual, a period from an agerecognized as an adult to an average life span of each individual, or aperiod from an age recognized as old age to an average life span of eachindividual has the same position and the same length on the time axis.

2-3. When a Period Corresponding to an Era is Displayed at the SamePosition: FIG. 6

When a time chart of persons in different eras is created and displayedas described above, the time axis may be set and displayed such that theperiod (the point in time), such as the age recognized as an adult of aperson in each era has the same position in the time axial direction.

Specifically, when a time chart of Oda Nobunaga and the userhimself/herself is created and displayed as described above, as shown inFIG. 6, a time axis 5 is set and displayed for a person in the WarringStates period, and a time axis 6 is set and displayed for a person atthe present time such that the age (age 15) recognized as an adult for aperson in the Warring States period and the age (age 20) recognized asan adult for a person at the present time have the same position.

In this case, the average life span of a person in the Warring Statesperiod is displayed by the length corresponding to the period of 50years as shown by the shaded areas 5 a and 5 b on the time axis 5. Theaverage life span of a person at the present time is displayed by thelength corresponding to the period of 80 years as shown by the shadedareas 6 a and 6 b on the time axis 6.

By this example, it possible to more universally compare Oda Nobunaga ora person in the Warring States period, and the user himself/herself or aperson at the present time by abstracting the difference in agerecognized as an adult due to the difference in era.

The time axis may be set and displayed such that not an age recognizedas an adult, but an age recognized as an old age or the age of theaverage life span of a person of each era has the same position and thesame length on the time axis.

2-4. When a Certain Period is Displayed by the Same Length

The time axis may be set and displayed such that a certain period of aperson in each era does not have the same position in the time axialdirection, but has the same display length.

For example, when a time chart of Oda Nobunaga and the userhimself/herself is created and displayed as described above, in the samemanner as the example shown in FIG. 6, the time axis for a person in theWarring States period, and the time axis for a person at the presenttime are separately set. However, each of age 0 has the same position,and each period from an age recognized as old age to an age of theaverage life span has the same display length as an old-age period.

Accordingly, suppose that a person in the Warring States period isrecognized as an adult at the age of 15, is recognized as an old age atthe age of 40, and has the average life span of 50 years. Suppose that aperson at the present time is recognized as an adult at the age of 20,is recognized as an old age at the age of 60, and has the average lifespan of 80 years. Assuming that the display length of an old age periodis L, for a person in the Warring States period, an underage period isdisplayed by 1.5 L in length, and a period from age recognized as anadult to an age recognized as old age is displayed by 2.5 L in length.For a person at the present time, an underage period is displayed by Lin length, and a period from age recognized as an adult to old age isdisplayed by 2 L in length.

By this example, it possible to more universally compare Oda Nobunaga ora person in the Warring States period, and the user himself/herself or aperson at the present time by abstracting the difference in absolutetime length of an old age-period due to the difference in era.

2-5. Creation and Display of Time Chart on Persons Having DifferentProperties Other than an Era

Each example described above is the case of creating and displaying atime chart of persons in different era. However, the average life spanof a person and an age recognized as an adult, etc., are different by anarea, such as a country, a gender, etc., even if in the same era. Thus,each of the above-described examples of an embodiment of this inventioncan be applied to the case of creating and displaying a time chart ofpersons having different properties other than an era, such as a region,gender, etc.

3. Case of Person and Animal, or Case of Animals of Different SpeciesFIG. 7 to FIG. 9

This invention can be applied to the case of creating and displaying atime chart of a person and an animal, or the case of creating anddisplaying a time chart of different species of animals, such as a dogand a cat, etc.

3-1. Case of Person and Animal: FIG. 7 to FIG. 9

As an example of the case where a time chart of a person and an animalis created and displayed, a description will be given of the case wherethe personal history of the user himself/herself and the record of a dogthe user is keeping as a pet are displayed in comparison.

When a Period, Such as the Average Life Span is Displayed by the SameLength: FIGS. 7 and 8

When a time chart of a person and an animal is created and displayed,for example it is preferable to set and display the time axis such thatthe average life span of a person and that of an animal have the sameposition and the same length on the time axis.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of the above. In this example, a dog theuser is keeping as a pet is a Chihuahua (the pet name: Momo). In thechronological display area 3 of the screen 1 like the one shown in FIG.3, the time axis 4 is set and displayed such that the average life spansof a Chihuahua and a person have the same position and length on thetime axis.

Specifically, it is assumed that the average life span of a Chihuahua is15 years, and the average life span of a person is 80 years. It is alsoassumed that a line segment from a start point to another point on thetime axis 4 is the average life span 4 e. At the same time, it isassumed that for a Chihuahua, the average life span 4 e is a period of15 years, when the Chihuahua reaches the average life span from birth,and for a person, the average life span 4 e is a period of 80 years,when the person reaches the average life span from birth.

Accordingly, for a Chihuahua, the time period for a unit length, such as10 mm or 100 mm on the time axis 4 becomes 3/16 times that for a person.On the contrary, for a person, the unit length becomes 5.33 times thatfor a Chihuahua.

Furthermore, in relation to the time axis 4, in the chronologicaldisplay area 3, four pieces of item information 9 a, 9 b, 9 c, and 9 dare displayed as the chronological information of Momo, and five piecesof item information 8 p, 8 q, 8 r, 8 s, and 8 t are displayed as thechronological information of the user herself.

By this example, at the present time, Momo is 13 years old, and the useris 31 years old, and thus Momo is younger than the user from theviewpoint of the absolute age of the two. However, it is understood thatMomo is much older than the user from the viewpoint of abstracting thedifference in species, namely a Chihuahua and a person.

Also, the age at which Momo gave birth to a child and the age at whichthe user gave birth to the first daughter are different in absolute age,but it is understood that these are about the same time from theviewpoint of each one's life.

The time axis may be set and displayed such that not an average lifespan, but, for example a non-old-age period of a Chihuahua and a person,that is to say, a period from birth to an age recognized as old age hasthe same position and the same length on the time axis.

Specifically, a Chihuahua is recognized to have become old at the age of10 on the average, and a person is recognized to have become old at theage of 60. Thus, as shown in FIG. 8, it is assumed that a line segmentfrom a start point to another point on the time axis 4 is a non-old-ageperiod 4 g. At the same time, it is assumed that for a Chihuahua, thenon-old-age period 4 g is a period of 10 years, when the Chihuahuahaving become 10 years old, and for a person, the non-old-age period 4 gis a period of 60 years, when the person having become 60 years old.

Accordingly, for a Chihuahua, the time period for a unit length, such as10 mm or 100 mm on the time axis 4 becomes ⅙ times that for a person atthe present time. On the contrary, for a person, the unit length becomes6 times that for a Chihuahua. Also, assuming that the display length ofthe non-old-age period 4 g is L, the display length of the average lifespan (15 years) of a Chihuahua becomes 1.5 L, and the display length ofthe average life span (80 years) of a person becomes 1.33 L.

In this case, at the same time, it is preferable to make clear theaverage life span of a Chihuahua and the average life span of a personat a glance, for example, by displaying, on the time axis 4, a line 4 hconnecting a point indicating age 15 of a Chihuahua on the upper side onthe time axis 4 and a point indicating age 80 of a person.

By this example, it is understood at a glance that at the present time,the user is in her young-age period, whereas Momo is in its old-ageperiod. At the same time, it is understood that in the case of aChihuahua, an old-age period (a period from an age recognized as old toan average life span age) occupies a relatively larger portion of theaverage life span than the case of a person. On the contrary, it isunderstood that a non-old-age period occupies a smaller portion of theaverage life span.

The time axis may be set and displayed such that not a non-old-ageperiod, but, for example an immature period (a period from birth to theage recognized as matured for a Chihuahua, and the above-describedunderage period for a person) has the same position and the same lengthon the time axis.

In this case, it is also understood at a glance that in theabove-described example of Momo and the user herself, at the presenttime, the user is in her young-age period, whereas Momo is in itsold-age period.

Furthermore, the time axis may be set and displayed such that old-ageperiods (periods from an age recognized as old to an average life spanage) of a Chihuahua and a person have the same position and the samelength on the time axis.

When a Period According to the Species is Displayed by the Same Length:FIG. 9

When a time chart of a person and an animal is created and displayed,the time axis may be set and displayed such that the age recognized thatboth have grown matured (the age recognized as an adult for a person) orthe period (point in time), such as the age recognized as an old age hasthe same position in the time axial direction.

Specifically, when a time chart of Momo and the user herself is createdand displayed as described above, as shown in FIG. 9, a time axis 5 isset and displayed for a Chihuahua, and a time axis 6 is set anddisplayed for a person such that the age (age 10) recognized as an oldage for a Chihuahua and the age (age 60) recognized as an old age for aperson have the same position.

In this case, the average life span of a Chihuahua is displayed by thelength corresponding to the period of 15 years as shown by the shadedarea on the time axis 5. The average life span of a person is displayedby the length corresponding to the period of 80 years as shown by theshaded area on the time axis 6.

In this example, it is also understood at a glance that at the presenttime, the user is in her young-age period, whereas Momo is in itsold-age period.

When a Certain Period is Displayed by the Same Length

In the case of a person and an animal, the time axis may be set anddisplayed such that a certain period does not have the same position inthe time axial direction, but has the same display length.

For example, when a time chart of a Chihuahua and the user herself iscreated and displayed as described above, in the same manner as theexample shown in FIG. 9, the time axis for a Chihuahua, and the timeaxis for a person are set separately. However, each of age 0 has thesame position, and each old-age period (a period from an age recognizedas old age to an average life span) has the same display length.

Accordingly, suppose that a Chihuahua is recognized as old age at theage of 10, and has the average life span of 15 years. Suppose that aperson is recognized as old age at the age of 60, and has the averagelife span of 80 years. Assuming that the display length of an old ageperiod is L, for a Chihuahua and for a person, 5 years and 20 years aredisplayed by a length of L, respectively. For a Chihuahua, a non-old-ageperiod is displayed by 2 L in length, and for a person, a non-old-ageperiod is displayed by 3 L in length.

By this example, it possible to more universally compare Momo or aChihuahua, and the user herself or a person by abstracting thedifference in absolute time length of an old age period due to thedifference in species.

3-2. Case of Animals of Different Species

Among animals, for example between dogs and cats, there are differencesin the average life span, an age recognized as matured, an agerecognized as old age, etc. Also, among dogs, for example between asmall dog, Chihuahua and a large dog, shepherd, there are differences inthe average life span, an age recognized as matured, an age recognizedas an old age, etc.

Accordingly, this invention can be applied to the case where a timechart is created and displayed between animals of different species,such as a dog and a cat, a Chihuahua and a shepherd, or the like.

The user sometimes keeps a dog and a cat, or keeps dogs of differentspecies. In such a case, if the user creates and displays a time chartof individual animals by the method like the examples described above,it possible to more universally compare the individual animals byabstracting the difference in the absolute time length of the averagelife span due to the difference in species.

4. The Other Embodiments

Each individual to be compared is not limited to a person or an animal,such as a dog, a cat, etc., and may be each individual which isconceived to have a process from birth to death, for example, a creaturesuch as an insect, a fungus, etc., a plant such as a tree, a flower,etc., or a star, etc. The time length of a period, such as the averagelife span, an immature period, etc., is not limited to a year, and maybe a much shorter time period or a much longer time period.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

1. A method of displaying item information related to a plurality ofindividuals having different properties onto a screen, the methodcomprising the steps of: obtaining information indicating an equivalenttime property, which is time corresponding to a property of eachindividual; setting a time axis on the screen such that the equivalenttime property of each individual indicated by the obtained informationhas a same position and a same display length, or the same position orthe same display length in a time axial direction; and displaying theitem information related to each individual on the screen in relation tothe time axis.
 2. The method of displaying information according toclaim 1, wherein each individual is conceived to have a process frombirth to death, the property is an era, a region, a type, or a gender ofeach individual, and the equivalent time property is an average lifespan of each individual, a first period from birth to a mature agerecognized as maturity of each individual, a second period from birth toan old age recognized as old age of each individual, a third period fromthe mature age to the old age of each individual, a fourth period fromthe mature age to the average life span of each individual, or a fifthperiod from the old age to the average life span of each individual. 3.The method of displaying information according to claim 1, wherein eachindividual is conceived to have a process from birth to death, theproperty is an era, a region, a type, or a gender of each individual,and the equivalent time property is an age recognized as maturity ofeach individual, an age recognized as old age, or an average life spanof each individual.
 4. The method of displaying information according toclaim 1, wherein the obtained information indicating the equivalent timeproperty is obtained through a network in the step of obtaininginformation.
 5. The method of displaying information according to claim1, wherein one of or all of the item information is related to acontent, and when the item information related to the content isselected, the step of obtaining information includes playing back thecontent related to the item information.
 6. The method of displayinginformation according to claim 5, wherein the content is played back bycontent data obtained through a network in the step of playing back thecontent.
 7. The method of displaying information according to claim 1,wherein one of or all of the item information is related to goods or aservice, and when the item information related to the goods or theservice is selected, the step of obtaining information includesperforming purchase processing of the goods or the service related tothe item information through a network.
 8. An information processingapparatus for displaying item information related to a plurality ofindividuals having different properties onto a screen, the apparatuscomprising: information obtaining means for obtaining informationindicating an equivalent time in property, which is time correspondingto a property of each individual; time-axis setting means for setting atime axis on the screen such that equivalent time in property of eachindividual indicated by the obtained information has a same position anda same display length, or the same position or the same display lengthin a time axial direction; and information displaying means fordisplaying the item information related to each individual on the screenin relation to the set time axis.
 9. The information processingapparatus according to claim 8, wherein each individual is conceived tohave a process from birth to death, the property is an era, a region, atype, or a gender of each individual, and the equivalent time propertyis an average life span of each individual, a first period from birth toa mature age recognized as maturity of each individual, a second periodfrom birth to an old age recognized as old age of each individual, athird period from the mature age to the old age of each individual, afourth period from the mature age to the average life span of eachindividual, or a fifth period from the old age to the average life spanof each individual.
 10. The information processing apparatus accordingto claim 8, wherein each individual is conceived to have a process frombirth to death, the property is an era, a region, a type, or a gender ofeach individual, and the equivalent time property is an age recognizedas maturity of each individual, an age recognized as old age, or anaverage life span of each individual.
 11. The information processingapparatus according to claim 8, wherein the information obtaining meansobtains the obtained information indicating the equivalent time propertythrough a network.
 12. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 8, wherein one of or all of the item information is related to acontent, and when the item information related to the content isselected, the information obtaining means includes means for playingback the content related to the item information.
 13. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the content playbackmeans plays back the content by content data obtained through a network.14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, whereinone of or all of the item information is related to goods or a service,and when the item information related to the goods or the service isselected, the information processing apparatus includes means forperforming purchase processing of the goods or the service related tothe item information through a network.
 15. A recording medium forrecording an information display program for causing a computer toperform processing displaying item information related to a plurality ofindividuals having different properties onto a screen, the programcomprising: information obtaining means for obtaining informationindicating an equivalent time property, which is time corresponding to aproperty of each individual; time-axis setting means for setting a timeaxis on the screen such that the equivalent time property of eachindividual indicated by the obtained information has a same position anda same display length, or the same position or the same display lengthin a time axial direction; and information displaying means fordisplaying the item information related to each individual on the screenin relation to the time axis.
 16. An information processing apparatusfor displaying item information related to a plurality of individualshaving different properties onto a screen, the apparatus comprising: aninformation obtaining mechanism obtaining information indicating anequivalent time property, which is time corresponding to a property ofeach individual; a time-axis setting mechanism setting a time axis onthe screen such that the equivalent time property of each individualindicated by the obtained information has a same position and a samedisplay length, or the same position or the same display length in atime axial direction; and an information displaying mechanism displayingthe item information related to each individual on the screen inrelation to the time axis.